Uncanny New X-Men

Chapter 26: Madness In Madripoor- Part 2

By

The Uncanny R-Man

Disclaimer- 'You're gonna need a bigger boat.'- Chief Brody (Jaws)

The skies above Madripoor-

A sleek black aircraft cut through the skies high above the Southeast Asian country known as Madripoor. It had come to Logan's attention that the infamous Chinese villain known as the Mandarin was planning something big.

Logan had prior history with the Mandarin. It was during the time when he was travelling around the world with Jubilee. The Mandarin had assisted the Hand in switching Psylocke's mind of that with a brain-dead woman known as Kwannon. Psylocke (in Kwannon's body) was then brainwashed into becoming the Mandarin's henchwoman. Needless to say, Logan and Jubilee rescued Psylocke and defeated the villains, destroying the Mandarin's home in the process.

'This is just like old times…' Jubilee grinned nostalgically. 'Travelling around with Wolverine to kick some butt. I've really missed this.'

'Wow. I still can't believe that you guys beat up the Mandarin.' The young mutant known as Armor gazed at Jubilee in amazement.

'Technically, we didn't actually beat him, kid.' Jubilee explained. 'We kind of ran off after I blew his mansion up. Hopefully we'll actually get to kick his head in this time.'

'Don't underestimate de Mandarin, petite.' Gambit warned the younger mutant. 'You should know that he ain't no pushover.'

'Yeah, that's right.' Rogue nodded in agreement. 'Don't forget about those fancy rings of his. If somebody like Iron Man has trouble with him, how do y'all think we'd handle him?'

'Oh, please.' Jubilee snorted in derision. 'We're the freaking X-Men. Iron Man's just some guy in a glorified suit of armour.'

'A multi-billion dollar suit of armour, Jubilation.' Nightcrawler pointed out. 'Not to mention all of the upgrades that Stark has made over the years.'

'I wish I had a billion dollars.' August sighed wistfully. 'Just imagine all the shoes I could buy with a billion dollars.'

'Mmm, shoes…' Jubilee smiled dreamily.

'I will never understand why women are so obsessed with shoes.' Colossus shook his head sadly.

'That is one of the mysteries of life, mein freund.' Nightcrawler comforted his friend. 'I doubt that even Reed Richards understands how women's minds work.'

Armor blinked in surprise as she saw something zoom past the window she was staring out of.

'Umm… Mr Logan? I think we've got company.'

'About time too!' Jubilee rubbed her hands together gleefully. 'It's been ages since I had a good fight.'

'Don't start the firework show just yet, kid.' Wolverine told his former sidekick. 'That's our backup.'

The feral mutant opened up communications with their guest.

'About time you could make it, Stark.' Wolverine chuckled. 'I was beginning to think that we'd have to take the Mandarin on ourselves.'

'You know me, Logan…' Tony Stark's tinny voice replied over the radio. 'I'm never one to turn down a team-up.'

'Ooh, is that Tony Stark?' August gasped excitedly as she craned her neck to try and get a look at the Golden Avenger. 'I've never actually met him before. I've only seen him on the TV. God, he's sexy.'

'I'm going to pretend that I never heard that.' Nightcrawler shook his head.

'Aww, you know I love you, fuzzy.' August smiled as she tousled the fuzzy elf's hair. 'Tony Stark may be rich, but I bet he isn't as good in bed as you are.'

'Eww. Too much information.' Jubilee grimaced. 'I so didn't need to hear that.'

'If you'll just follow me…' Iron Man suggested. 'Then I'll lead you to where I reckon the Mandarin's holed himself up.'

Later-

Iron Man had guided the X-Men to a hillside compound where the Armoured Avenger suspected that the Mandarin was hiding out.

'Are you sure that we've got de right place?' Gambit asked. 'I don' see any sign of life anywhere.'

'The whole place certainly stinks of something.' Wolverine frowned as he sniffed the air. 'We have to get in there.'

'We can't just charge in there with guns blazing, mein freund.' Nightcrawler pointed out. 'That would be suicide.'

'Well, Madripoor's Logan's turf, so ah say we go with his plan.' Rogue added her two cents.

'Oh yeah. That'll work.' August rolled her eyes. 'Charge in and slice everybody to ribbons before we even get the answers we're looking for.'

'Then what do you suggest we do, Sparky?' Wolverine countered. 'Torch the place?'

'Well, Iron Man's the expert on the Mandarin, so why don't we see whether he's got any plans?' August suggested.

'So, what's the what, Shell-Head?' Jubilee asked as she looked over at Iron Man. 'Have you got a plan?'

'First we obviously need to gain access to the building.' Iron Man nodded. 'But we can't just go charging in, as Nightcrawler mentioned. The Mandarin is bound to have all sorts of sensors to detect intruders. My own sensors are just trying to determine what sort of tech we're dealing with here.'

'And just how long will that take?' Colossus enquired.

'Done.' Iron Man told the Russian mutant. 'Hunh. That's weird. The place is hardly guarded at all. Just your common garden security cameras and infrared beams.'

'You'd t'ink that somebody like de Mandarin would have some better security.' Gambit frowned. 'Gambit could get through dat security in his sleep.'

'Well, Mandy was always pretty arrogant.' Wolverine remembered. 'Perhaps he thinks he don't need to hi-tech sensors with those fancy rings of his.'

'Then let's go find out, mes amis.' Gambit smirked. 'And if it's stealth you'll be needing, then that's Gambit's speciality.'

'There's no need, Gambit.' Iron Man told the Ragin' Cajun. 'My suit can hack into the Mandarin's systems from here. He won't even know that we're here.'

'Oh.' Gambit's shoulders fell in disappointment. 'Then you've got everything planned already, eh?'

'The Mandarin's a dangerous foe.' Iron Man pointed out. 'I always plan ahead whenever I have to deal with him.'

Inside the compound-

The heroes had found their way into the Mandarin's compounds with no trouble at all. The place didn't even have any guards patrolling anywhere, just lots of clay statues of ancient Chinese warriors.

'These statues are giving me the creeps.' Armor shivered as she followed the rest of the group along the corridor. 'They look so lifelike. It's almost like their eyes are following me.'

'Don't fret, kiddo.' Rogue reassured the young girl. 'They won't hurt you, they're only statues.'

'I think I have seen these statues somewhere before…' Colossus frowned as he wracked his head to try and remember where he recognised the statues from. 'Yes, the Terracotta Army. Several thousand clay warriors were made to guard an ancient Chinese emperor in the afterlife many years ago.'

'If these things are Chinese, then what are they doing here?' Jubilee blinked. 'Why would the Mandarin want them? Wouldn't they be like, protected by law or something?'

'All very good questions, my child. Unfortunately, you shall not live to see them answered.'

The heroes all spun to see the Mandarin standing on top of the stairs in front of them.

'The game's over, Mandarin!' Iron Man told his nemesis. 'Give up now or we'll have to get nasty. Personally, I'm hoping that you refuse. I'm itching to find an excuse to kick your head in.'

'It is always such a pleasure to meet you in battle, Stark.' The Mandarin chuckled. 'However, time is of the essence. I will not be the one destroying you. That honour falls to my Terracotta warriors!'

The Mandarin held out his hand as a beam of light shot out from one of his rings, illuminating the inert clay warriors around the room. One-by-one the statues burst into life and marched towards the heroes, their swords bared.

'I was planning on releasing my warriors on New York City.' The Mandarin explained. 'Having them destroy you will be a most suitable test for them.'

The Mandarin held his hands out towards the Terracotta Warriors.

'Terracotta Warriors: Attack!'

TBC…

Next: Madness in Madripoor- Part 3

Will the X-Men and Iron Man be able to defeat the Mandarin's Terracotta Warriors? Tune in next time to find out…